Amalgamator.



lFammi Aug. I9, |902.

G. H. BREYMANN.

AMALGAMATOR. (Apucmon med Aug. 12, 1901,)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES:

Patented Aug. I9, |902.

N. N A M V.. E .Dn B um G.

AMALGAMATR. (Application led Aug. 12, 1901.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Modei.)

wwNEssEs.-

UNITED jSTATES;

PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE HIBREYMANN, oF ToLnD'o,oHio.`

`,explvlAlsctLuvlATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 707,296, dated August 19,1902'. YApplication filed August'lZ) 1901. SerialNef'lrflfi. (No medal.)l

T cir/ZZ whom, it nmz/,y c oncevcf j Beit known that LGEORGE HBREYMANN,a citizen of theUnited States,residing at Toledo,

. in the county of Lucas and State ofOhio,

have inventedcertainvnew and useful Improvements in Amalgamators; and Ido declare the followingrto be afull, clear, and exact description ofthe invention',`suchl as 'will enabley others skilled.y in' the art towhich it appertains to make and-use'the same,` reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this speciication a A familiar difficultyencountered in the use of amalgamating-machines is that the quick-A'silver when agitatedw'ith Mthe gold-bearing material is iinelysubdivided into minute particles which on being exposed to the airquickly become oxidized, thus producing a floured mercury. Averylarge-per cent. of this floured 'mercury is lost in the tailings,forming a heavy item of expense'in the use of the machine. i' 4 t Myinvention relates to and its object is to provide means forovercomingthe difficulty y here indicated by the entire eXcl'usionof airduring the operation of amalgamation.,y

VMy invention is `also designed to provide means for placing thecontentsl ofthe cham-` loer of the amalga'mating-machine under hydraulicpressure' during the amalgamating process, thus insuring a more intimatecontact and admiXture between thepulp and the quicksilver` My inventionalso relates 'to certain details of construction hereinafter described,and pointed out in the claims. Y .l

I -attain the objects above-referred to by means of thedevice'smechanism, and arrangement of parts'hereinafter described, andshown and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- 1 Figure 1is a side elevationof my machine,

partly in centrall longitudinal vertical section, with a portion'of theYdrum hereinafter;

referred to broken away to slio'wlitsinternal arrangement; Fig. 2, anend' view of ,my machine with a portion ofthe end of the drum brokenaway to show the form and relation of the rotary agitators hereinafterreferred to, and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation of myapparatus.-

Like `numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

In the drawings, 1 is a cylindrical `metal. drum closed at bothfends byplates 1L and .havin g circumferential tracks or ways 2,which rest uponsuitable -rollers 2, journaled and mounted upon'a stout base or frame 3.The drum is providedwith'a` circumferential rack 4, which uis engagedand driven bypinion 5 on driving-shaft 6, this. shaft being operativelyconnected with some suitable source of power. a Thejpinion 5'revolveswith but is movable along itsshaft andmay be `thrown into andout ofgearwith the rack 4.

7 7 are a series of vagitator-rolls disposed at equidi'stant intervalswithin the drum and near to its cylindrical wall. These agitators arenearly the length of the interior vof the druml and are mounted upon andsecured to shafts 7 a, whichy extend at both ends through stuffing-boxesk8 in the plates 1,forming the ends of thedrum.4 These agitators arecorrugated or fluted longitudinally. 'lhe longitudinal grooves orchannels may bevaried in transverse section to meet the requirements'ofthe conditions under whichthe machine is to be worked. have'illustrated,for example, the corrugations 7b are serrated, so that the agitatorspresent in transverse section the appearance of a circular saw havinglarge Iteeth, the points of which are acute angles, the angles lat fthebase of the teeth forming pockets. At

In the form which I:

one end of the drum `the projecting extremities of the shaft 7 carrypinions 7( These pinions are all engaged by a gear-wheel 9,

`which has a hub 9, upon which is secured a l 'sprocket-wheel 10. fThissp'rocket-wheel is driven by-chainll, passing over-sprocketwheel 12and counter-shaft 13. `This, shaft carries a sprocket-Wheel 14, whichfisdriven by chain 15, running upon a sprocket 16 on IOO iirst-mentionedtrunnion forms a support upon which the hub 9a ofthe sprockets 9 and pl0 is loosely mounted. A A feed-pipe 2O leads into the interior of thedrum through stuffing-box 2l in the end of the trunnion 18. Anoutlet-pipe 22 leads from the chamber of the drum through a stuiiing-boxin the trunniolr 19. The horizontal pipe 2O has at its inner end anelbow and terminates in a pipe disposed and adapted to swing in avertical plane. The pipe 22 in like manner has atits inner end an elbowand terminates in the pipe 22, which swings in a vertical plane. Thefeed-pipe 2O is connected with a tank, where water and pulp are mixed,and with a pump, by means of which water is supplied to the chamber ofthe drum and by means of which the water maybe placed under pressure.(See Fig. 3.) The inlet and outlet pipes are suitably valved. The latterpipe is provided with an upturned U-shaped bend, as shown. The drum isprovided with an airvent 23 and with a manhole, which does not appear inthe drawings.

The operation of my device is as follows: The drum is provided with acharge of mercury, which partly covers the lower agitators. Pulp mixedwith water is fed into the drum through pipe 20, the inner end of which,20a, is turned toward the bottom of the drum. The pipe 20 is securedagainst rotationby lneans of a stout set-nut 2Ob at the union betweenthe pipe 20 and the pipe leading from the pulp-tank. The swinging pipeat the opposite end of the drum is in like manner secured by a similarnut 22h. A charge of pulp is ladmitted through the pipe 20, and allvalves being closed and the water-supply pump being put in motion thechamber of the` 'drum is now lled with water and hydraulic pressure isapplied to the contents of the drum. Power is applied to the shaft 6.The drum through the rack and pinion 4 5 is now caused to revolve, andthe agitators are set in motion through the pinions on the ends of theagitator-shafts and the train ofsprocketgearing e, 1o, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, and 16. As the drum turns slowly on its supports each of theagitators is turned on its shaft and the contents of the drum arestirred and thoroughly mixed. The longitudinal channels or grooves uponthe agitators catch the pulp and carry it down into and throughthemercury, thus after a few rotations of the drum insuring the contact ofthe mercury with every part of the charge of pulp. Before commencing therotation of the drum the pipe ends 2Oa and 22 should be turned upwardly,i'or the reason that it' the machinery were started while these pipeends were embedded in the pulp they would be broken oit. Under somecircumstances and with some kinds of auriferous material the operationmay be continuous and the pulp may be fed down through the pipe 20 closeto the bottom of the drum, while the upturned end of the pipe 22:L willpermit the escape of the excess of water and the tailings.

It will sometimes be found desirable to rotate the drum withoutrevolving the agitators. In such case, by means of the clutch 17, thetrain of gearing which revolves the agitators may be thrown out of gear.In like manner the drum may be allowed to stand motionless by moving thepinion along its shaft out of gear with the rack lt. Thus both of thedriving mechanisms may at all times be operated, either in conjunctionor independently of each other.

To those skilled in the art lmodifications of the mechanical means bywhich rotation of the drum and of the agitators is secured and of themeans for feedingv and withdrawing the pulp into and from the drum andof placing the contents of the drum under hydraulic pressure willsuggest themselves, and I do not, therefore, limit my invention to theexact form of apparatus here shown.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

l. In an amalgamating-machine, the combination of a rotary cylinder andsuitable trunnions therefor, inlet and outlet pipes leading through saidtrunnions and having bent ends within the cylinder adapted to be turnedeither upward or downward, a series of agitators within the cylinder,means for hermetically sealing said cylinder, operating means for thecylinder and agitators, separate driving connections between thecylinder and agitator-s and the operating means,and means for throwingeither driving connections out ot' operation.

2. In an amalgamating-machine, the combination of a rotatable cylinderhaving an axial inlet and axial outlet, means for hermetically sealingsaid cylinder, means for IOO placing the contents ofthe cylinder underhydraulic pressure, agitators disposed within the cylinder, operatingmeans for the cylinder,

and agitators, separate driving connections between the cylinderandagitators and the operating means, and means for throwing either drivingconnections into or out of engagement with the operating means wherebyboth the cylinder and agitators may be axially rotated in unison or theone held stationary while the other is rotated. y

3. In an amalgamating-mach`ine, the combination of a cylinder havingsuitable trunnions, an inlet-pipe leading into the cylinder through oneof said trunnions, an outlet-pipe leading from the cylinder through theother ofsaid trunnions, each of said pipes having the ends within thecylinder bent and adapted to be turned upward or downward within 'thecylinder, the outlet-pipe having an upturned U-shaped bend outside ofsaid cylinder, a series of agitator-s within said cylinder, operatingmeans for the cylinder and agitators, separate driving connectionsbetween the cylinder and agitators and the operating IIO means, andmeans for throwing either drivp,

ing connections into or out of engagement wlth the operating means. i

4. In an amalgamating-machine, the coml connecting the agitators totheir operative bination of a cylinder having an axial inlet mechanismwhereby thecylinder and agitaand an axial outlet, means for hermeticallytors may be given axial rotation or held at sealing said cylinder, aseries of` agitators rest the one independent 'of the other. l

5 mounted for rotation within said cylinder, In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature I5 means for rotating said cylinder, a clutch for inpresence oftWo Witnesses.

i connecting and disconnecting the cylinder GEORGE BREYMANN. i with itsoperating means, independent mech- Witnesses:

1| anism for imparting axial rotation to said agi- F. M; DOTSON,

' 1o tators, and a clutch for connecting and disl L. E. BROWN.

